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At a press conference in São Bento, Lisbon, after the crisis cabinet meeting, António Costa spoke about the evolution of the epidemic in Portugal, ruling out the possibility of applying new containment measures, despite the increase in daily cases in recent years. weeks.
In his opening statement, the CEO considered that the country “is experiencing strong growth in new cases daily”, a trend that began to be recorded in mid-August. Therefore, according to António Costa, “the pandemic cannot be allowed to continue growing.”
“We cannot allow the pandemic to continue to grow, but we cannot stop parents like we did. We cannot prevent children from going to school. We cannot again prohibit families from visiting loved ones at home. We cannot to separate families at Christmas. We have to stop the pandemic on our own “, appealed the Prime Minister.
According to the Prime Minister, it is necessary to “stop the pandemic” and all Portuguese are responsible for controlling the transmission of Covid-19. To this end, António Costa recalled that the norms and preventive measures must be respected “permanently” and without “relaxation”. “Now we will not be able to stop the country again, as happened in March. Now, the control of the pandemic depends on the personal responsibility of each one of us ”.
“We must maintain the physical distance that is appropriate in each circumstance”, the Prime Minister appealed, adding that it is essential to wear a mask, maintain the respiratory tag and install the application Stayaway Covid.
If these rules are followed, “We will be able to control the pandemic, we will be able to guarantee that companies will be able to stay in business and we will guarantee that jobs and household income are protected.”, Costa maintained.
Remembering that the social cost of the “confinement was brutal”, António Costa called for everyone’s caution. “It is up to everyone to ensure” control of the pandemic, he said at the press conference.
“The social cost of the confinement was brutal, the personal suffering of all was enormous. The pain in the families was enormous, we have to avoid going through everything again.”, he stressed.
“The responsibility is constant”
The prime minister recalled that one of the main problems of covid-19 is that many infected people do not have any symptoms and, not knowing that they are infected, they come into contact with other people more easily and facilitate the spread of the disease.
“I understand that many people think that the virus is not so serious after all, and especially now that it has affected a younger age group, where the consequences are apparently less severe, people tend to relax.”, he stated. “But we must not forget that we have a responsibility not to contaminate others, such as the elderly, or people who live with us and we do not know if they have any pathology.”António Costa appealed.
We can trust the tests, the health professionals, the National Health Service, as the executive leader recalled, but it is necessary that everyone prevent the risks of being infected and of being able to infect others.
“Our responsibility is permanent and there can be no relaxation”continued the Prime Minister, recalling that everything will happen only when there is a vaccine or treatment.
“I understand that after many months there will be some fatigue. This is not a 100-meter race, it will be a long marathon, we do not know how long it will last. It will only end when there is an effective treatment or vaccine.”, he stated.
Although many young people are asymptomatic or do not run as many risks since they do not belong to vulnerable groups.
“It is not because I am young that the responsibility is less”, remembered. “You are in the hands of each one of us to control the pandemic,” he said again.
“And we cannot wait for the rules to be defined. We cannot wait for a policeman to say what to do. We must be police ourselves.”, he said.
Portugal can have 1,000 cases daily
The Prime Minister did not announce new measures, but revealed that, next week, the General Directorate of Health will have completed the plan to combat the pandemic for the autumn and winter period. Either way, “Before thinking of new measures, we have to focus on the rules that we have to comply with”.
António Costa also said that “There is no reason to panic or fear”, but that caution and caution is necessary, because “each prevented is worth two”.
“This is an effort from all of us”, reinforced once more. “If we follow the rules, we can do everything: go to the cinema, to the theater, to schools and travel by public transport”he continued.
According to António Costa, if the trend in Portugal continues, we can “reach a thousand cases a day.” But “we have to stop this trend.”
“We cannot stop the country”, stressed the prime minister. “We have to stop the pandemic on our own,” he repeated.
The prime minister also guaranteed that “testing capacity has increased significantly” and that, despite the growth in cases, the National Health Service is not yet overloaded, and the balance of this Friday reveals a drop in the number of patients. hospitalized.
“Fortunately, the pressure on the NHS remains limited. In fact, today’s figures reveal a decline in hospitalized patients, both in intensive care and in general hospitalizations. Fortunately, we are not in a situation where there is no control in the NHS. But the incubation periods are long. “, he said.
From the crisis office to monitor the evolution of covid-19, which had met for the last time on June 29, members of the Government are included, as well as the Ministers of State for the Economy and Foreign Relations – Augusto Santos Silva was not there Present today and was represented by the Secretary of State Eurico Brilhante Dias – of the Presidency and Finance, as well as the holders of the National Defense, Internal Administration, Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, Education, Health and Infrastructure and Accommodation portfolios.
